Sun & Moon Trailer: What it means for VGC

On June 14th Nintendo streamed a demo of Pokemon Sun & Moon, which revealed some new information about the battle GUI (guided user interface) that has some interesting implications for VGC.

When selecting a Pokemon’s move, you can now quickly check to see what the move does. This seems like it will be useful in game when using these new moves for the first time but won’t get used much in VGC matches. There will probably be a time when a newer player is given a team and will appreciate this feature.

The game will also tell you how effective your moves will be against the opponents Pokemon. This will be useful in game when you see a new Pokemon for the first time and don’t know what type it is. For VGC this’ll help early on when you face the obscure new Pokemon that doesn’t have obvious typing. I’m curious how this will interact with abilities. When facing something like Bronzong both of Groudon’s STAB moves could potentially be super effective. The game likely won’t give you a hint as to what the opponent’s ability so the potential to trip up inexperienced players will be there.

Another useful feature is the game finally has a way to keep track of the stat changes of all the Pokemon in battle. Its easy to lose track how many stat changes a Pokemon has if its stayed in play for multiple turns. This change will be especially appreciated if Moody remains relevant in VGC. As we can see, there are three unused lines next to the stats that could potentially be used for things like Magnet Rise, Skill Swap, Leech Seed, etc.

The neat thing about this feature is that it might indicate other changes that we haven’t seen yet. What if the GUI keeps a tally of how many turns of Trick Room remain? Have you ever lost track during a match that caused you to misplay? At the very least I won’t have to worry about Showdown making me soft anymore. Its nice to see the games catch up to the simulator. If weather turns are being counted, it’ll be interesting to see if it accounts for Damp Rock and similar items.

These changes will without a doubt make the game more accessible for new players without removing depth while also giving veteran players an appreciated tool.